Watching all the coverage of the anti-abortion protesters gathering at Notre Dame before the President's commencement address I can feel the anger in me rising.
It is not that I am pro-abortion, or disagree with the freedom of speech and the right to protest, and yet I can feel myself getting a little crazy!
Abortion is undoubtedly a very emotional issue, and I suspect this is because we wrap a number of other issues and deep seeded feelings up in this debate. Investigating my opinions on abortion reveals less interest in the medical procedure of abortion, and more interest in the issues it symbolizes. It seems much hurt and devaluing of women has come from both my religion and my country.
Men beware, it might just be easier to agree to give women a choice, rather than open the space for this much larger debate...
Has Christianity Left Women Behind?
Watching the protesters at Notre Dame placing the signs on their graduation cap of a cross with two baby feet on either side, enraged me. This symbol reminded me of the way I have felt disenfranchised from traditional Christianity.
Apparently God is male, first fail for women. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... I count three whole parts there, couldn't we have gotten even 33% representation in the trinity? It sure makes it harder to be God-like when you are born the wrong gender to begin with. The one main female role model in the church is both a virgin and a mother (a very hard standard for most modern women to live up to). And let us not forget in Catholicism as well as some conservative protestant traditions women just aren't equipped (read smart enough) to teach men.
And it is not only what we aren't. It is the incredibly small box of expectation of what we are. In many traditional Christian settings women are seen to be primarily baby factories. Somehow the issue of abortion seems to imply that the Church doesn't trust women's ability to choose whether they want to fulfill that role, as if that decision was pre-determined for us when our eggs were formed.
A Country Where All Men are Created Equal
I appreciate that abortion is legal in this country, but the way this debate is often framed rips away at the equality women feel.
Women are so often portrayed as the monsters in the abortion debate when so many factors lead to the situation of an unwanted pregnancy with at least one factor that is always present, a man!
Another factor rarely discussed is the lack of health insurance for women. Did you know that less than half of American women can get health insurance through work? Keeping that in mind did you know that a 22 year old woman can be charged 1 1/2 times the premium of a 22 year old man in the individual insurance market. Yes, that is because it is expensive for the insurance company if that woman gets pregnant.
So until America decides to value the health of a woman and offer fair and equal health care for all women, I have very little patience for your debate as to whether women should have a choice to have an abortion or not. Without first the basic respect for a woman's health, this issue can quickly make women feel like property rather than people.
Working for Solutions
Let me be clear, I am not saying that pro-lifers hold these views that I have articulated anger me so. I am trying to convey why this issue is such a hot button issue for me. I believe there is much that needs to be done to bring feminism to Christianity and equality to America. I would love to spend more energy on these issues, less on fighting about the fetus, and together from a place of high value and regard for women I believe we could work very effectively to decrease unwanted pregnancies.
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6 comments:
There are a lot of good things happening to empower women in Christianity. For example: my seminary classes the professors are very deliberate in highlighting the female perspective, and pointing out the value is gender equality. Is this the norm yet? probably not. But I have found that encouraging the positive threads of change often work more effectively than focusing energy toward annihilating the negative. I appreciate your passion, and I agree with you in many regards. The problem is so deeply seeding in our culture that we are going to have to find alternative vehicles for change than the "my facts are more convincing than your facts debate." Simply educating people does not work; it seems as though it should, but it does not (with my family in particular). Keep the passion Allison, just make sure you throw your people some encouragement along with the words you are throwing at the "other."
Barry thanks so much for the comment! I am SO glad to hear that about your seminary classes. That certainly warms my heart.
I really appreciate what you said here, and knew as I was writing this piece, that this was not my most open minded moment, but I guess I just felt like I needed to let out that voice in me that was shouting so. This blog was definitely more of a vent for me than any hopes of persuading others to see my way.
I read a title of a book today that was called, "A God Who Looks Like Me" and I was surprised at how that title really stirred me. I have been comfortable for years now, not calling God He, and making those changes, but at times I guess I still resent the male imagery.
Sometimes I wonder, do we not have more female imagery and perspective in Christianity because of our culture's interpretation, OR is our culture being delayed in making progress because of old religious baggage?
Thanks again for your comments, I thought the tone of Obama's speech today was a great example of dialoging with a differing opinion.
God as the Father is putting way too many limits on what God is. For a different take on what "He" is, listen to this version of the 23rd Psalm by Bobby McFerrin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5WadVmFe0o&feature=related
Pro Choice?
What choice is that? Do the millions murdered choose to die?
My sould cries out for the over 30 million voices taken, in the U.S. alone. I think you've gotten your view on pro life wrong. As a fellow woman, I am strongly for women equality. Pro-life is just that, for life. If the mother will die by having a child, then sadly, an abortion may be neccesary to save her. Pro-lifers do not just forget about the mother and only focus on the child, because she is just as important. There are medical centers and donaters across the U.S. who will help mothers who can not afford a baby. Many open thier homes to the mother, will pay for her expences, and help her through the whole process. For mothers who cannot afford it there is help.
Whatever the reason or the choice the facts remain the same. When someone has brainwaves, and a beating heart, there alive. Destroying the body, the baby, is ending a human life.
So be happy, I know I am, that my mom chose she wanted me. If she didn't I wouldn't be here, have an opinion, talk, laugh, and neither would you, but hey it's the mother's body, she can kill her children if she wants to. The law states now that even if a baby is fighting for life, after being born the mom can still have him killed. Right, what's one second, or one minute, or an hour, or a day, why shouldn't the mother always be able to end the child's life when she wants, is a four second old baby worth less than a four week old, 4 month old, or four year old. It's only up to the mother, she the only one the choice affects, isn't it?
A really good book about pro-choice, and pro-life is
Why Pro-Life, caring for the unborn, and their mothers, by Randy Alcorn.
Great post, Allison. Thank you for speaking out on this issue.
It gets my blood boiling to hear of the antics of anti-choice activists, such as the group that, as part of the protest at Notre Dame, pushed around baby dolls in strollers covered in fake blood.
Abhorrent behavior to say the least.
I've never understood why these same anti-choice activists are against birth control and sex education. "Every child a wanted child" and "safe, legal and rare," are the mottos to live by.
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